Adhesive articles having repositionability or slidability characteristics

ABSTRACT

An adhesive article exhibiting air release or egress, repositionability, and/or slidability characteristics. An adhesive article comprises an adhesive layer comprising an adhesive surface comprising discrete forms of non-adhesive material randomly distributed on the patterned surface and at least partially embedded in the adhesive layer. The discrete forms of non-adhesive material provide areas of no or minimal adhesion and provide the article with some level of repositionability or slidability. The adhesive surface comprising the non-adhesive forms may be patterned to provide an adhesive surface with a contact surface and recessed area or channels that provide the article with a route for air to flow out from under the construction. An article may be formed by providing a release liner, applying discrete forms of non-adhesive material to a surface of the release liner, at least partially embedding the non-adhesive forms, and embossing the release liner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/757,535 filed Jun. 4, 2007, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to adhesive articles and methods of makingthe same. The adhesive articles may find usefulness in a variety ofapplications including, for example, advertising and promotion,screening and tinting, transportation, traffic and safety, labeling,industrial and graphic displays such as those used on vehicles andarchitectural surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pressure sensitive adhesives have enjoyed great acceptance for theirconvenience of use. Pressure sensitive adhesives are used in a varietyof applications including tapes, labels and articles containing graphicimages. Pressure sensitive adhesives have a number of advantages such asstrong bonding and simplicity of application. One drawback of theseproducts is the initial tack of the pressure sensitive adhesive. A needexists to make pressure sensitive adhesives that are repositionable, yethave a high ultimate adhesion. Desirably, during application, theproduct may be moved or removed without destroying or disturbing theproduct or the substrate to which the material is being applied. Whenapplying large graphics, for example, a need exists for the products tobe able to slide. Slidability allows for proper alignment of the graphicduring difficult applications.

When the product is a graphic image and is applied over an area like awall or truck panel, there is the possibility of trapping air under theproduct and forming deformations of the surface such as with bubbles orwrinkles. These bubbles and wrinkles will distort and damage thegraphic; therefore, it is desirable for the product to exhibit airrelease or egress. Air egress is the ability of the product to provide aroute for air trapped under the product to be removed.

A need exists in a variety of markets, such as the label and graphicsmarket, for products that have one or more of the desirable propertiesof air egress, repositionability, and slidability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an adhesive article that exhibits airrelease or egress, repositionability, and/or slidabilitycharacteristics. Air egress may be provided by an adhesive surfacehaving a patterned topography comprising recessed areas such as, forexample, grooves and channels. Repositionability and/or slidability maybe provided by having discrete quantities of surface contact elements ornon-adhesive material that are randomly distributed or provided in anon-regular arrangement on and partially embedded in the adhesive layer.The present invention further relates to methods of making such adhesivearticles. Adhesive articles in accordance with the present invention mayfind usefulness as decals, labels, industrial graphic images anddesigns, decorative coverings, architectural displays and the like.

In one aspect, the present invention may relate to a method of making anadhesive article, the method comprising: providing a release linerhaving a release surface and a back surface; applying a plurality ofsurface contact elements or non-adhesive material forms to the releasesurface of the release surface such that the non-adhesive forms aredistributed on the release surface in a non-regular arrangement; atleast partially embedding one or more of the non-adhesive forms into therelease liner; embossing the release liner to provide an embossedpattern; and applying an adhesive layer having a front surface and aback surface onto the release surface of the release liner, wherein thefront surface of the adhesive layer is adhered to the release surface ofthe release liner. In one embodiment, the non-adhesive forms may beapplied by spraying. Embedding and embossing may be carried out (i)separately and sequentially, or (ii) substantially simultaneously.

In another aspect the present invention may relate to an adhesivearticle comprising: an embossed release liner having a release surfaceand a back surface; an adhesive layer having a front surface and a backsurface, the front surface of the adhesive being adhered to the releasesurface of the release liner; and a plurality of non-adhesive materialforms randomly distributed about the release surface of the releaseliner, wherein at least one or more of the non-adhesive material formsare at least partially embedded into the release liner. The non-adhesivematerial may further have random or discrete forms, sizes, shapes,densities and/or configurations or be comprised of one or more chemicalcompounds.

In a further aspect, the present invention may relate to a method offorming an embossed carrier web, the method comprising: providing acarrier web having a first surface and a second surface; applying anon-adhesive material to the first surface of the carrier web to providea plurality of non-adhesive material forms, the non-adhesive materialbeing applied such that the non-adhesive material forms are randomlydistributed on the first surface; at least partially embedding one ormore of the non-adhesive material forms into the carrier web; andembossing the carrier web to provide an embossed pattern.

In a further aspect, the present invention may relate to a carrier webcomprising: first and second opposing surfaces; and a plurality ofnon-adhesive material forms randomly distributed about at least one ofthe first and second opposing surfaces and at least partially embeddedin the carrier web, wherein the carrier web has an embossed pattern inat least one of the first and second surfaces.

In still another aspect, the present invention may relate to a pressuresensitive graphical display, comprising; a substrate having first andsecond surfaces; indicia applied to the first surface of the substrate;an adhesive layer applied to the second surface of the substrate; aplurality of discrete non-adhesive material forms, some of which are atleast partially embedded in the adhesive layer; a release liner coveringthe adhesive layer and the plurality of discrete non-adhesive materialforms; and wherein the plurality of discrete non-adhesive material formsprovide air egress channels in the adhesive layer.

In another aspect, the present invention may relate to a pressuresensitive graphical display, comprising; a substrate having first andsecond surfaces; indicia applied to the first surface of the substrate;an adhesive layer applied to the second surface of the substrate; aplurality of discrete non-adhesive material forms, some of which are atleast partially embedded in the adhesive layer; a release liner coveringthe adhesive layer and the plurality of discrete non-adhesive materialforms; and wherein the plurality of discrete non-adhesive material formsprovide air egress channels in the adhesive layer.

In a further aspect, the present invention may relate to a method ofmaking an adhesive article, the method comprising: providing a releaseliner having a release surface and a back surface; applying a pluralityof non-adhesive forms comprising a non-adhesive material to the releasesurface of the release liner such that the non-adhesive forms aredistributed on the release surface in a non-regular arrangement; atleast partially embedding one or more of the non-adhesive forms into therelease liner; and applying an adhesive layer having a front surface anda back surface onto the release surface of the release liner, whereinthe front surface of the adhesive layer is adhered to the releasesurface of the release liner.

In another aspect, the present invention may relate to a method ofmaking an adhesive article, the method comprising: providing a releaseliner having a release surface and a back surface; applying a pluralityof surface contact elements to the release surface of the release linersuch that the surface contact elements are distributed on the releasesurface in a non-regular arrangement; at least partially embedding oneor more of the surface contact elements into the release liner; andapplying an adhesive layer having a front surface and a back surfaceonto the release surface of the release liner, wherein the front surfaceof the adhesive layer is adhered to the release surface of the releaseliner.

In a further aspect, the present invention may relate to an adhesivearticle comprising: an embossed release liner having a release surfaceand a back surface; an adhesive layer having a front surface and a backsurface, the front surface of the adhesive being adhered to the releasesurface of the release liner; and a plurality of surface contactelements randomly distributed about the release surface of the releaseliner, wherein one or more of the surface contact elements are at leastpartially embedded into the release liner.

These and other features of the present invention may be furtherunderstood from the following detailed description in conjunction withthe drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views of an adhesive article havinga patterned contact surface and non-adhesive forms disposed on thepatterned surface;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a system for forming an embossedliner comprising non-adhesive forms embedded therein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a system for forming an embossedliner comprising discrete quantities of non-adhesive material embeddedtherein, wherein embossing and embedding are carried out substantiallysimultaneously;

FIG. 4 is a micrograph of a section of an embossed release liner havingdiscrete quantities of non-adhesive material embedded therein; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an adhesive articlehaving non-adhesive forms disposed on the contact surface of theadhesive.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention may relate to adhesive articles such as thoseused, for example, in industrial, advertising, promotional, labeling,vehicular, traffic and safety, architectural and transportation relatedgraphics. The adhesive articles may provide one or more of air egress orrelease, repositionability, and/or slidability for easy application to asubstrate. The present invention may also relate to methods of makingsuch adhesive articles. Further, the present invention may relate to acarrier web or intermediate assembly, such as a release liner, that maybe suitable for adhesive articles.

The adhesive articles may generally comprise an adhesive layer, andsurface contact elements or non-adhesive material forms randomlydistributed along a surface of the adhesive layer. The non-adhesivematerial may be dispersed in a particular or discrete volume, density,quantity or amount which can create a discontinuity in the number ofparticles provided across the surface. The adhesive layer may bepatterned and comprise recessed areas, such as, for example, grooves,lanes or channels, in a surface of the adhesive layer. The recessedareas and/or channels or grooves provide the adhesive article with airegress characteristics, i.e., the recessed areas provide a route fortrapped air under the product to be removed or released when the articleis applied to a surface. Generally, the non-adhesive material will bedisposed on the patterned surface of the adhesive layer. The adhesivearticle may comprise a release liner releasably adhered to a surface ofthe adhesive layer. Non-adhesive material is preferably non-tacky at atemperature of application but may develop adhesive or tacky propertiesupon application of temperature or pressure above certain thresholds.

With reference to FIG. 1A, adhesive article 100 comprises a substrate orfacestock 110, an adhesive layer 120, and surface contact elements ornon-adhesive forms 130. The non-adhesive forms comprise or are formed bya non-adhesive material. The non-adhesive forms 130 may also be referredto herein as surface contact elements, discrete or individualnon-adhesive forms, particles, dots, bits, pieces, segments, or thelike. Adhesive 120 has a patterned surface 122 comprising recessed areas124. Recessed areas 124 define a recessed surface 126. The adhesivearticle includes non-adhesive forms 130 in contact with the patternedsurface of the adhesive. As shown in FIG. 1A, the non-adhesive forms 130may be partially embedded in adhesive layer 120. For reasons describedfurther herein, recessed areas including surfaces 126 of the adhesivelayer may also be in contact with or have partially embedded thereinnon-adhesive forms 130. As shown in FIG. 1A, the non-adhesive forms 130are distributed in or along the surface of adhesive layer 120 in arandom or non-regular arrangement. In addition to being randomlydistributed in or along the surface of the adhesive layer, thenon-adhesive forms 130 may have random sizes, shapes, densities,configurations, or the like.

With reference to FIG. 1B, adhesive article 100 further comprisesrelease liner 140. FIG. 1B shows release liner 140 partially peeled awayfrom the adhesive layer 120. Release liner 140 includes an outer or backsurface 142, and an inner surface 144 in contact with the adhesive layer120. Inner surface 144 may also be referred to as the release surface.As shown in FIG. 1B, the non-adhesive material 130 is partially embeddedin the release liner 140.

The non-adhesive forms 130 may provide adhesive article 100 withrepositionability or slidability characteristics, which refers to theability to move or change the position or orientation of the article 100with respect to the substrate or surface to which it is to be applied.In one embodiment, the adhesive article may be placed on a substrate andthe non-adhesive forms may prevent the adhesive surface 122 fromcompletely or fully contacting and adhering to the substrate. In thismanner the article can be placed on the substrate and slid over thesurface of the substrate and into a selected position prior to adheringthe article to the substrate. In another embodiment, the non-adhesiveforms may provide the adhesive article with a lower initial tack suchthat the article may be repeatedly applied to and removed (i.e.,repositioned) from the substrate without significantly compromising theadhesive properties of the article or damaging the substrate's surface.Further, the non-adhesive forms may provide the adhesive article withair egress characteristics. The channels 124 in adhesive article 100 mayprovide a route for trapped air under the article to be removed orreleased and, thus, may provide the article with air egress properties.

The adhesive article shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is merely an exemplaryembodiment of an adhesive article in accordance with the presentinvention. The adhesive article is not limited to such a configurationand may include other designs and/or configurations. It will beappreciated that the adhesive article may include other layersintermediate the adhesive layer and the facestock. It will also beappreciated that the adhesive article need not include a facestock, butmay include, for example, a second release liner in place of thefacestock for providing a double-sided configuration, such as adouble-sided tape or a transfer tape, where the adhesive and one linerare used to transfer the adhesive to a face stock. Further, the adhesivemay be formed such that both surfaces of the adhesive comprise areas ofnon-adhesive material.

In one embodiment, the non-adhesive material can be any material thatupon drying, cooling, and/or curing is generally not tacky. Thenon-adhesive material may be made of organic polymeric material such as,for example, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, acrylic polymers,acetate, polyethylene, polypropylene or polystyrene and the like. In oneembodiment, the non-adhesive material is an ink, such as a printing ink.The non-adhesive material may also include oils, pigment dispersions,agglomerations of particles, encapsulated materials or any othermaterial that can be distributed using the methods contemplated in thisinvention. In one embodiment, the non-adhesive forms may all be formedfrom the same non-adhesive material. In another embodiment, two or moresets of non-adhesive forms may be formed from different non-adhesivematerial compositions. For example, a first set of non-adhesive formsmay be applied to the release liner in a random or non-regulararrangement using a first non-adhesive material, and a second set ofnon-adhesive forms may be applied to the release liner in a random ornon-regular arrangement using a second non-adhesive material. Of course,if desired, other sets of non-adhesive forms formed from additionalnon-adhesive materials may be employed.

In one embodiment, the non-adhesive material is a UV-curable ink.Ultraviolet radiation curable inks that are useful as the non-adhesivematerial may generally comprise a binder that includes one or morephotopolymerizable monomers. The photopolymerizable monomers generallyare ethylenically unsaturated compounds. The unsaturated compounds maycontain one or more olefinic double bonds, and they may be low molecularweight compounds (monomeric), or high molecular weight compounds(oligomeric). Illustrative examples of monomers containing one doublebond include acrylates such as alkyl(meth)acrylates orhydroxyalkyl(meth)acrylates such as methyl-, ethyl-, butyl-,2-ethylhexyl- or 2-hydroxyethylacrylate, isobornylacrylate, methyl- orethylmethacrylate, and the like. Further examples of photopolymerizablemonomers include acrylonitrile, acrylamide, methacrylamide,N-substituted (meth) acrylamides, vinyl esters such as vinyl acetate,vinyl ethers such as isobutylvinyl ether, styrene, alkylstyrenes andhalostyrenes, N-vinylpyrrolidone, vinyl chloride, vinylidene chloride,and the like.

Suitable monomers containing a plurality of double bonds include, butare not limited to, the diacrylates of ethylene glycol, 1,3-propyleneglycol, 1,4-butaneodiol, 1,4-cyclohexane diol, neopentyl glycol,hexamethylene glycol, or bisphenol A polyacrylates such astrimethylolpropane triacrylate and pentaerythritol triacrylate ortetraacrylate, vinyl acrylate, divinyl benzene, divinyl succinate,diallyl phthalate, triallylphosphate, triallylisocyanurate,tris(2-acryloyloxy)ethyl-isocyanurate, and the like.

Examples of suitable high molecular weight (oligomeric) polyunsaturatedcompounds include, but are not limited to, acrylated epoxy resins,acrylated polyethers, acrylated polyurethanes, acrylated polyesters, andthe like. Further examples of suitable unsaturated oligomers includeunsaturated polyester resins that are normally prepared from maleicacid, phthalic acid and one or more diols and which have molecularweights of about 500 to about 3000. Such unsaturated oligomers may alsobe referred to as prepolymers. Single component systems based onphotocurable prepolymers are often used as binders for printing inks.Unsaturated polyester resins are normally used in two-component systemstogether with a monounsaturated monomer such as described above,preferably with styrene.

The unsaturated compounds also can be used in admixture withnonphotopolymerisable film-forming components. These components maytypically be drying polymers or their solutions in organic solvents,such as nitrocellulose. They may also, however, be chemically curable orthermocurable resins such as polyisocyanates, polyepoxides or melamineresins. The concomitant use of thermocurable resins is important for usein so-called hybrid systems which are photopolymerised in a first stepand crosslinked by a thermal after treatment in a second step.

The UV radiation curable inks also should contain at least onephotoinitiator. A wide range of different photoinitiators is at presentavailable for UV radiation curable systems. They include benzophenoneand benzophenone derivatives, benzoin ethers, benzil ketals,dialkoxyacetophenones, hydroxyacetophenones, aminoacetophenones,haloacetophenones or acryloxyphosphine oxides. They differ in that theyhave different absorption maxima. To cover a wide absorption range it ispossible to use a mixture of two or more photoinitiators. The totalamount of photoinitiator in the UV radiation curable compositions may bein the range of, for example, from about 0.05 to about 10% by weight ofthe total composition. In one embodiment, the compositions contain fromabout 0.2% to about 5% by weight of the photoinitiator.

Amines may be added to accelerate the photopolymerisation, for exampletriethanolamine, N-methyl-diethanolamine, p-dimethylaminobenzoate orMichler's ketone. The photopolymerisation can further be accelerated bythe addition of photosensitisers that displace or broaden the spectralsensitivity. Suitable photosensitisers include aromatic carbonylcompounds such as thioxanthone, anthraquinone and 3-acyl-coumarinderivatives as well as 3-(aroylmethylene)-thiazolines.

Hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) that function as co-stabilizersmay also be added to UV radiation curable printing compositions used inthe present invention. Examples of hindered amine light stabilizersinclude those listed and recited in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,112,890 and4,636,408, which are incorporated herein by reference. A specificexample of a hinder amine light stabilizer useful in the printing inksis Tinuvin 292, which is identified asbis(1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidinyl)-sebacate.

In addition to the above described binder materials and photoinitiators,the UV radiation curable inks used in the present invention may alsocontain coloring matter selected from organic pigments, inorganicpigments, body pigments and dyes, which are known and have been used inthis art. Examples of useful pigments include, but are not limited to,titanium dioxide, cadmium yellow, cadmium red, cadmium maroon, blackiron oxide, carbon black, chrome green, gold, silver, aluminum andcopper. Examples of dyes include, but are not limited to, alizarine red,Prussian blue, auramin naphthol, malachite green, etc. Generally theconcentration of the pigment or dye in the ink may be from about 0 toabout 70% by weight, and in one embodiment, from about 0.1% to about 50%by weight.

In addition to the above described coloring matter, UV radiation curableinks suitable for use as the non-adhesive material may also containfillers, extenders, surfactants, and the like, which are known and havebeen used in this art. Examples of useful fillers and extenders include,for example, silicon dioxide, fumed silica, glass or ceramicmicrospheres, and glass or ceramic bubbles. Generally the concentrationof the filler or extender may be from about 0 to about 70% by weight,and in one embodiment, from about 0.5% to about 50% by weight.

Inks suitable for use as the non-adhesive material may also contain atleast one UV absorber, which provides weathering protection and helpsprevent microcracking. The amount of UV absorber included in, forexample, the UV radiation curable ink should be maintained at apractical minimum since the presence of the UV absorber may increase thecuring rate. A variety of UV absorbers are known and useful in thenon-adhesive material including UV absorbers belonging to the group ofphotopolymerisable hydroxybenzophenones and photopolymerisablebenzotriazoles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,369,140 describes a class of2-hydroxyphenyl-s-triazines that are useful as UV absorbers forradiation curable systems. The triazines are effective for stabilizingcured films when exposed to sunlight over a long period of time, andthese stabilizers do not interfere with UV radiation curing of the inks.The triazine UV absorbers are effective in amounts of from about 0.1 toabout 2% by weight. The UV absorbers may be used in combination withother light stabilizers such as sterically hindered amines. Thedisclosure of the '140 patent is hereby incorporated by reference forits disclosure of such UV absorber combinations. U.S. Pat. Nos.5,559,163 and 5,162,390 also describe UV absorbers that are useful inthe inks of the non-adhesive material.

Examples of useful UV-curable inks include those available from Decochemunder the trade designation Poly-Rad plastics, as well as UV-curableinks commercially available from Acheson and Dow Chemical Company.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ink used to form thenon-adhesive material on the adhesive layer may be a coalescing ink. Theink does not efficiently wet out on the surface of the adhesive, butcoalesces into smaller areas of ink with an increase in ink dot height.

In one embodiment of the invention, the ink used to form thenon-adhesive material comprises a porous non-adhesive. The porousnon-adhesive may have elastomeric properties, so that if it iscompressed, it essentially returns to its original shape. For examplethe porous non-adhesive comprises an ink containing a blowing agent thatcauses the ink to expand, forming an open or closed cell, or combinationthereof. The blowing agent is activated, for example, by the applicationof heat to the ink. Other examples of porous non-adhesives includesuspensions of gas and/or particles in a binder. The porous non-adhesiveis then embedded into the adhesive layer. The porous non-adhesive fillsthe depression created in the embedding step, resulting in a facestocklayer having a smooth outer appearance.

As described more fully herein, the adhesive article may be formed byapplying the non-adhesive material to a carrier web such as a releaseliner to provide non-adhesive forms that are randomly distributed orarranged in a non-regular manner on a surface of the carrier web, e.g.,on the release surface of a release liner as discrete quantities ofnon-adhesive material. In one embodiment, while being distributed on thecarrier web (e.g., release liner) in a non-regular or randomarrangement, the non-adhesive forms may be similar or regular in termsof their physical parameters. In another embodiment, the non-adhesiveforms may be random in one or more physical parameters including size,shape, thickness, height, width, circumference, density, volume ofnon-adhesive material, and the like. In one embodiment, the non-adhesiveforms may be in the shape of droplets or microspheres and may, whenresiding on a surface of a carrier web, such as the release surface ofthe release liner, have the appearance of hemispheres or mountains.

The dimensions of the non-adhesive forms may be controlled to someextent by the method by which they are applied in the carrier web. Asused herein, the height of a non-adhesive form is the distance from abase of the form to the peak or apex of the form. For example, referringback to FIG. 1B, non-adhesive form 130 a may have a height h1, andnon-adhesive form 130 b may have a height h2. The height of thenon-adhesive forms is not limited. In one embodiment, the non-adhesiveforms, when applied to the release liner, may individually have a heightof from about 1 to about 50 microns. In one embodiment, the non-adhesiveforms may individually have a height from about 1 to 25 microns, and inanother embodiment the non-adhesive forms may individually have a heightfrom about 1 to about 15 microns. However, one of ordinary skill in theart will readily appreciate that the height of the non-adhesive formsmay vary depending on the method by which the non-adhesive material isapplied. For example, in one embodiment, where the non-adhesive materialis applied by spraying, a first quantity of non-adhesive material may bedeposited onto a second quantity of non-adhesive material to provide arelatively large non-adhesive form, which will yield a height greaterthan the desired height.

The coverage of non-adhesive material may be selected to provide adesired level of slidability or repositionability. The coverage ofnon-adhesive material may also be selected based on the composition ofthe adhesive. For example, greater coverage of non-adhesive material maybe needed with extremely aggressive adhesives to provide a suitablelevel of slidability or repositionability. In one embodiment, thenon-adhesive forms may cover from about 1 to about 75% of the totalsurface area of the release surface of the release liner. In oneembodiment, the non-adhesive forms may cover from about 1 to about 50%,in another embodiment from about 1 to about 35%, in another embodimentfrom about 1 to about 20%, and in another embodiment from about 1 toabout 10% of the total surface area of the release surface of therelease liner. The non-adhesive material may also cover from about 1 toabout 75%, in one embodiment from about 1 to about 50%, in oneembodiment from about 1 to about 35%, in one embodiment from about 1 toabout 20%, and in one embodiment from about 1 to about 10% of the totalsurface area of the surface of the adhesive layer. The non-adhesivematerial or surface contact elements may provide the adhesive articlewith repositionability and/or slidability characteristics by reducingthe initial tack of the adhesive to the substrate. Without being boundto any particular theory, the non-adhesive material may reduce theinitial tack of the adhesive to the substrate by reducing the surfacearea of the adhesive that is available to initially contact asubstrate's surface. The non-adhesive material may reduce the initialtack such that (i) the adhesive article may be initially applied adheredto a substrate surface and removed therefrom without a substantial lossof adhesive properties and/or without damaging the substrate surface,and/or (ii) the article may be placed against a substrate withoutpre-adhering to the substrate such that the article may be slid over thesubstrate's surface into a selected position.

As described above, the adhesive article may comprise a facestock, anadhesive layer, a plurality of discrete quantities of non-adhesivematerial, and a release liner. The facestock may be any materialsuitable for such a layer including those that are useful for decorativeor graphic image applications. The facestocks may have any desiredthickness and may have, for example, a thickness from about 10 to about300, or from about 25 to about 125 microns. Material suitable for thefacestock include, but are not limited to, paper, polyolefins (linear orbranched), polyamides, polystyrenes, nylon, polyesters, polyestercopolymers, polyurethanes, polysulfones, polyvinylchloride,styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers, styrene-acrylonitrile copolymers,ionomers based on sodium or zinc salts of ethylene methacrylic acid,polymethyl methacrylates, cellulosics, fluoroplastics, acrylic polymersand copolymers, polycarbonates, polyacrylonitriles, and ethylene-vinylacetate copolymers. Included in this group are acrylates such asethylene methacrylic acid, ethylene methyl acrylate, ethylene acrylicacid and ethylene ethyl acrylate. Also, included in this group arepolymers and copolymers of olefin monomers having, for example, 2 toabout 12 carbon atoms, and in one embodiment 2 to about 8 carbon atoms.These include the polymers of alpha-olefins having from 2 to about 4carbon atoms per molecule. These include polyethylene, polypropylene,poly-1-butene, etc. An example of a copolymer within the abovedefinition is a copolymer of ethylene with 1-butene having from about 1to about 10 weight percent of the 1-butene comonomer incorporated intothe copolymer molecule. The polyethylenes that are useful have variousdensities including low, medium and high density ranges. The low densityrange is from about 0.910 to about 0.925 g/cm³; the medium density rangeis from about 0.925 to about 0.940 g/cm³; and the high density range isfrom about 0.94 to about 0.965 g/cm³. Films prepared from blends ofcopolymers or blends of copolymers with homopolymers also are useful.The films may be extruded as a monolayer film or a multi-layered film.

In one embodiment, the facestock is a polymeric facestock, whichcontains migratory additives. An exemplary facestock is apolyvinylchloride facestock. Such materials typically include additivessuch as plasticizers and antioxidants. The plasticizer is a high-boilingsolvent or softening agent, usually liquid. It is an ester made from ananhydride or acid and a suitable alcohol that usually has between 6 to13 carbon atoms. Suitable plasticizers include adipate, phosphate,benzoate or phthalate esters, polyalkylene oxides, sulfonamides, etc.Examples of plasticizers include, but are not limited to, DOAplasticizer (dioctyl adipate), TEG-EH plasticizer (triethylene glycoldi-2-ethylhexanoate), TOTM plasticizer (trioctyl trimellitate),triacetin plasticizer (glyceryl triacetate), TXIB plasticizer(2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol diisobutyrate), DEP plasticizer(diethyl phthalate), DOTP plasticizer (dioctyl terephthalate), DMPplasticizer (dimethyl phthalate), DOP plasticizer (dioctyl phthalate),DBP plasticizer (dibutyl phthalate), polyethylene oxide,toluenesulfonamide, dipropylene glycol benzoate, and the like. Thefacestock may be configured or shaped as desired for a particularpurpose or intended use. The facestock may be a single layer or maycomprise multiple layers. Multiple layers may be employed to provideprotection, weatherability, printability or other characteristics to theadhesive article. Indicia or graphics, such as information, logos,designs, phrases, pictures, or the like may be applied to the substrateor facestock. In one embodiment, indicia may be applied by printing asurface of the substrate or facestock. For example, with reference toFIGS. 1A and 1B, facestock 110 may carry or have printed thereon indicia150 and 152, which may depict writing, design(s), logo(s), picture(s),or other desired indicia. In one embodiment, indicia 150 and 152 mayrepresent printed regions printed directly onto the surface 112 offacestock 110. The facestock may be printed prior to or after beingapplied to the adhesive. In another embodiment, indicia 150, 152 may beseparate printed layers or laminates that are applied to surface 112 ofthe substrate or facestock. The separate layer(s) may be printed with anindicia prior to or after being laminated to the facestock. Other layersor laminates may be provided to cover or protect the indicia. Forexample, facestock 110 and indicia 150 and 152 in FIGS. 1A and 1B couldbe covered by other layers or laminates if desired.

The adhesive layer may be formed from any suitable adhesive material asdesired for a particular purpose or intended use. In one embodiment, theadhesive layer comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive layer. In someapplications, the adhesive may be a heat activated adhesive, asdistinguished from a pressure sensitive adhesive. The pressure-sensitiveadhesive can be any pressure sensitive adhesive now known in the art orlater discovered. These include rubber based adhesives, acrylicadhesives, vinyl ether adhesives, silicone adhesives, and mixtures oftwo or more thereof. Included are the pressure sensitive adhesivematerials described in “Adhesion and Bonding”, Encyclopedia of PolymerScience and Engineering, Vol. 1, pages 476-546, Interscience Publishers,2nd Ed. 1985, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference. The pressure sensitive adhesive materials that are useful maycontain as a major constituent an adhesive polymer such as acrylic typepolymers, block copolymers, natural, reclaimed or styrene butadienerubbers, tackified natural or synthetic rubbers, random copolymers ofethylene and vinyl acetate, ethylene-vinyl-acrylic terpolymers,polyisobutylene, poly(vinyl ether), etc. The pressure sensitive adhesivematerials are typically characterized by glass transition temperaturesin the range of about −70° C. to about 10° C.

Other materials in addition to the foregoing resins may be included inthe pressure sensitive adhesive materials. These include solidtackifying resins, liquid tackifiers (often referred to asplasticizers), antioxidants, fillers, pigments, waxes, etc. The adhesivematerials may contain a blend of solid tackifying resins and liquidtackifying resins (or liquid plasticizers). Particularly usefuladhesives are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,192,612 and 5,346,766, whichare incorporated herein by reference.

The adhesive layer may have a thickness as desired for a particularpurpose or intended use. In one embodiment, the adhesive layer may havea thickness from about 10 to about 125, or from about 10 to about 75, orfrom about 10 to about 50 microns. In one embodiment, the coat weight ofthe pressure sensitive adhesive may be in the range of about 10 to about50 grams per square meter (gsm), and in one embodiment about 20 to about35 gsm.

The construction of the adhesive layer is not limited and may be anysuitable construction or configuration as desired for a particularpurpose or intended use. For example, in one embodiment, the adhesivelayer may be a single layer construction. In another embodiment, theadhesive layer may be a multi-layer construction comprising two or moreadhesive layers. In one embodiment, the adhesive layer(s) may also besubstantially continuous. In another embodiment, the adhesive layer(s)may be provided as a discontinuous layer or layers.

Release liners for use in the present invention may be those known inthe art or those later discovered. In general, suitable release linersinclude, but are not limited to, polyethylene coated papers with acommercial silicone release coating, polyethylene coated polyethyleneterephthalate films with a commercial silicone release coating, or castpolypropylene films that can be embossed with a pattern or patternswhile making such films, and thereafter coated with a commercialsilicone release coating. An exemplary release liner is kraft paperwhich has a coating of low density polyethylene on the front side with asilicone release coating and a coating of high density polyethylene orpolypropylene on the back side. Other release liners known in the artare also suitable as long as they are selected for their releasecharacteristics relative to the pressure sensitive adhesive chosen foruse in the adhesive article, that is, the adhesive will have a greateraffinity for the face stock than the liner. In one embodiment, therelease liner has a moldable layer of polymer under the release coating.The moldable layer is typically a polyolefin, such as polyethylene orpolypropylene. The surface of the release layer of the release liner mayhave a textured finish, a smooth finish, or a patterned finish. Therelease layer may have a randomly microstructured surface such as amatte finish, or have a pattern of three-dimensional microstructures.The microstructures may have a cross-section which is made up ofcircles, ovals, diamonds, squares, rectangles, triangles, polygons,lines or irregular shapes, when the cross-section is taken parallel tothe surface of the release surface.

In one embodiment, the release liner has a release coating on bothsides; one side having a release coating of a higher release value thanthe release coating of the other side.

In one embodiment, the adhesive layer of the articles has a Sheffieldroughness of at least about 10 or at least about 75, or at least about150. The adhesive layer may itself have the roughness or may be formedwhen the adhesive is coated onto a release liner. It is understood thatthe release liner may have a Sheffield roughness at least about 10 or atleast about 50, or at least about 75 or at least about 150. The adhesivewill replicate the complementary texture or pattern of the releaseliner. Alternatively, the release liner can be much rougher depending onthe configuration of the adhesive article. The Sheffield roughness isdetermined by TAPPI T 538 om-88.

An adhesive article in accordance with the present invention may beformed by applying an adhesive material to an embossed carrier web, suchas an embossed release liner, comprising non-adhesive forms, some ofwhich are at least partially embedded in a surface of the carrier web.An embossed carrier web such as a release liner may be provided by (i)applying a non-adhesive material to a surface of a carrier web such thatquantities of non-adhesive material are randomly distributed asnon-adhesive forms on a surface of the carrier web, (ii) at leastpartially embedding one or more of the non-adhesive forms in the carrierweb, and (iii) embossing the carrier web to create an embossed pattern.Upon removing the release liner, the adhesive layer has a patternedconfiguration or topography comprising recessed areas and quantities ofnon-adhesive material randomly distributed along and/or partiallyembedded in the surface of the adhesive layer. In one aspect, uponremoval of the release liner, the adhesive layer may serve to extractsome or all of the non-adhesive forms from the release liner. Theadhesive article may further contain other layers as desired for aparticular purpose or intended use such as, for example, a facestock,second release liner, or the like.

The non-adhesive material may be applied to a surface of the carrierweb, such as a release liner, by any suitable method to randomlydistribute quantities of the non-adhesive material on a surface of therelease liner to provide a plurality of non-adhesive forms. Thenon-adhesive material may be applied to the release liner by, forexample, brushing, spraying, printing, or the like. In one embodiment,the non-adhesive material is applied to the release liner by spraying.Spraying may be accomplished by using a spray gun such as anelectrostatic spray gun and/or atomizer. An example of a suitable spraygun includes an AEROBELL DEVILBISS rotary atomizer available from ITWRansberg Electrostatic Systems. Generally, spray guns include anatomizer housing and a rotating bell or cap spaced from one end of theatomizer housing. The atomizer housing includes rotary turbine engineblades and feed conduits for a solution such as a non-adhesive material.The non-adhesive material is expelled through injection ports at the endof the atomizer housing against the rotating bell or cap, which atomizesthe solution and directs a charged or uncharged spray radially outwardfrom the atomizer. The solution is atomized into discrete particles ordroplets of various dimensions. Generally, the type of sprayer orspraying system used to apply the non-adhesive material is not limited.Other suitable sprayers include, but are not limited to, high volume,low pressure (HVLP) sprayers.

In one embodiment, the non-adhesive material is applied to a releaseliner by spraying from a sprayer such as a spray gun. In one embodiment,the spray gun may be attached to a mechanism, such as a robotic arm, andthe sprayer may be moved relative to a stationary web of liner material.In another embodiment, the sprayer may be fixed in place and thenon-adhesive material may be applied by spraying the material onto amoving web of liner material.

At least one or more of the non-adhesive forms may be at least partiallyembedded into the release liner. Generally, at least a portion of atleast one or more of the non-adhesive forms are exposed and lie abovethe plane of the release liner. It will be appreciated that some of thenon-adhesive forms may be “fully” embedded into the release liner suchthat the upper surface of one or more of the non-adhesive forms may besubstantially even with or slightly below the plane of the releaseliner. Embedding the non-adhesive material into the release liner may becarried out by any suitable method using various tools including, forexample, pressure rollers or a platen. In one embodiment, embedding maybe carried out by using pressure and/or a heated embedding tool. In oneembodiment, the release liner may comprise a moldable layer of polymerunder a release coating, which softens upon the application of heat andallows the non-adhesive material to be embedded into the liner. Themoldable layer may typically be a polyolefin such as, for example,polyethylene. The embedding temperature and/or pressure may be selectedbased on (i) the materials used for the release liner and/or thenon-adhesive material, and/or (ii) the method or tools used to at leastpartially embed the non-adhesive material. In one embodiment, theembedding temperature may be in the range of about 45° F. to about 300°F. In another embodiment, the embedding temperature may be in the rangeof about 200° F. to about 250° F. In one embodiment, the embeddingpressure may be in the range of about 25 to about 150 pounds per squareinch (psi). In one embodiment employing pressure rollers, the embeddingnip pressure may be in the range of about 50 to about 140 psi.

The release liner may be embossed to create a pattern of depressions bycontacting a surface of the release liner with a patterned embossingtool. In one embodiment, embossing is accomplished by contacting therelease surface of the release liner with an embossing tool. The releaseliner may be embossed by any suitable method including using pressurerollers, a platen, a printing plate, or the like. An embossing toolgenerally includes a topographical pattern, which may be selected toprovide a desired adhesive pattern with recesses or channels for airegress. Generally, when the embossing tool contacts the release surfaceof the release liner, it imparts the inverse of the tool's pattern ontothe liner. That is, the patterned topography on the embossing tool is anobverse image of the final topography of the adhesive. The liner servesas the inverse image for transferring the image on the embossing tool tothe adhesive. Thus, the embossing tool's topography is essentially thetopography of the resulting adhesive layer. While embossing accomplishedby pressure is generally preferred, other embossing techniques may beused such as by thermal embossing.

The patterns may be formed of any size, shape, and/or depth, as desiredto provide a release liner and eventually an adhesive layer of a desiredtopography. The pattern may comprise a pattern of geometrical shapesincluding, but not limited to, circles, ovals, triangles, squares,rectangles, diamonds, trapezoids, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons,octagons, and the like. The pattern may also comprise decorative shapesother than conventional, regular geometric shapes. The pattern maycomprise a regular pattern using one repeating shape of the same sizeand dimensions. Alternatively, the pattern may include an array of aselected shape, e.g., a hexagon, using shapes of different sizes ordepths. The pattern may employ two or more different shapes. Evenfurther, the topography may be a random or irregular configuration.

Precision of topographical formation of the release liner can beachieved using a variety of machining techniques, which are within theskill of those in the machine tool industry. Suitable tools includeplanar presses, cylindrical drums, or presses or drums of othercurvilinear shapes. More specific examples of suitable tools includephotolithographic printing plates and cylinders, precision engravedplates and cylinders, laser machined plates and cylinders, and the like.

During embossing, the embossing tool may be heated in order to set theembossed shape in the liner web. The temperature may be selected basedon the materials used in the release liner. In one embodiment, theembossing tool has a temperature of, for example, about 45° F. to about300° F. during embossing. In another embodiment, the embossing tool mayhave a temperature of about 45° F. to about 225° F., and in anotherembodiment from about 60° F. to about 80° F.

It will be appreciated that other steps may be employed in a process offorming an adhesive article as described herein. For example, ifnecessary, the method may further comprise drying and/or curing thenon-adhesive material prior to embedding and/or embossing. The methodmay also include heating the non-adhesive material and release linerprior to embedding the non-adhesive material into the release linerand/or embossing the release liner.

In one embodiment, embedding the discrete quantities of non-adhesivematerial into the release liner and embossing the release liner may becarried out separately and sequentially. In another embodiment,embedding and embossing may be carried out substantially simultaneously.

With reference to FIG. 2, for example, a schematic representation of aprocess that sequentially embeds the non-adhesive material and embossesthe liner is shown. As shown in FIG. 2, a process system 200 may includeforming an adhesive article by providing a moving web of a liner 210from a roller 205, applying discrete quantities of non-adhesive materialto the liner via sprayer 220, and drying and/or curing the non-adhesivematerial with drying and/or curing unit 230. After drying and/or curingthe non-adhesive material, the liner web comprising the non-adhesivematerial is then heated with heater 240 and passed through rollers 250a, 250 b, which at least partially embed the non-adhesive material intothe release liner. Roller 250 b may be an embedding roller formed of arelatively hard material, and roller 250 a may be a back-up rollerformed from a softer material than the embedding roller. Roller 250 amay be, for example, formed from a rubber material. The web with theembedded non-adhesive material is then passed along to rollers 260 a,260 b, for embossing. Roller 260 a includes a patterned topography, theinverse image of which is imparted to the release liner. The embeddingrollers and/or the embossing rollers may be heated to soften the releasecoating and underlying polymer layer and facilitate the embedding and/orembossing process. The liner may be wound on roll 270 and stored beforefurther processing. Of course, it is not necessary to wind the linerprior to further processing, but the web could be continuously fed toanother station for applying the adhesive layer.

It may be desirable for the release surface to be heated prior toembossing such that the release surface and/or polymer layer(s) aresufficiently softened to achieve a more complete embossing. In oneembodiment, the heat of the release liner may be maintained prior toembossing by heating roller 250 b and/or roller 250 a. Rollers 250 aand/or 250 b may be, for example, heated to a temperature of about 45°F. to about 300° F.

In another embodiment, the embedding rollers may be “cold” or at atemperature such that the temperature of the release liner is cooled ornot sufficiently elevated prior to embossing. In such a “cold” embeddingprocess, it may be desirable to heat the release surface after theembedding process and prior to embossing. This may be accomplished by aheating unit located intermediate the embedding tool(s) and theembossing tool(s). For example, in the process schematic in FIG. 2, aheating unit (not shown) could be located intermediate embedding rollers250 a/250 b and embossing rollers 260 a/260 b.

With reference to FIG. 3, a schematic process is shown in whichembedding the non-adhesive material and embossing the release liner arecarried out substantially simultaneously. In process system 300 of FIG.3, discrete quantities of a non-adhesive material are applied to amoving web 310 (from roll 305) of a release liner using sprayer 320. Thenon-adhesive material is dried and/or cured using dryer and/or curingunit 330. The non-adhesive material and the release liner are heatedusing heater 340 and passed along to rollers 350 and 360. In theembodiment in FIG. 3, roller 350 is an embossing roller and roller 360is a backup roller, which may be a rubber backup roller. The backuproller 360 may be heated, in one embodiment, to a temperature of about225° F. The embossing roller 350 has a topographical pattern on itssurface. The embossing roller may also be temperature controlled suchas, for example at a temperature from about 45° F. to about 225° F., inone embodiment from about 45° F. to about 90° F., and in one embodimentfrom about 60° F. to about 80° F. While the embossing rollers may becontrolled or maintained at a selected temperature, it will beappreciated that the rollers may be heated or cooled as desired. Whenthe embossing roller 350 contacts the front or release surface of therelease liner, it imparts the inverse of the roller pattern onto therelease liner. During embossing, the non-adhesive material is at leastpartially embedded into the release liner. The embossed liner may thenbe wound on roll 370. As previously described, the embossed liner neednot be wound prior to further processing, such as, for example, prior toapplying an adhesive layer to the release surface.

While the process has been described with respect to embossing therelease liner by embossing the release surface of the release liner, itwill be appreciated that it may be possible to form an embossed patternby embossing the outer or back side (i.e., the side opposite the releasesurface) of the release liner.

It will be further appreciated that embossing may be accomplished afterapplication of an adhesive layer to the release liner. For example, amethod of forming an adhesive article may comprise (a) applying discretequantities of a non-adhesive material to the release surface of therelease liner such that the discrete quantities of non-adhesive materialare randomly distributed on the release surface, (b) at least partiallyembedding one or more of the discrete quantities of non-adhesivematerial into the release liner, (c) applying an adhesive layer onto therelease surface of the release layer, and (d) embossing the article.

With reference to FIG. 4, an embossed liner having non-adhesive materialembedded therein is shown. FIG. 4 depicts the release surface of therelease liner. In FIG. 4, liner 400 includes a pattern of recessed areas410 (i.e., extending into or below the plane of the paper), land areas420 between adjacent recessed areas, and discrete quantities ofnon-adhesive material (or non-adhesive forms) 430 embedded in thesurface of the liner. The discrete quantities of non-adhesive material430 are partially embedded in the hexagonal recess and the land areas ofthe release liner. The portion of the non-adhesive material that isviewable in FIG. 4 extends above the plane of the surface in which it isembedded (i.e., above the surface of the recessed surface of hexagonalrecesses 410 or the surface of land areas 420).

The adhesive layer can be applied using any suitable method includingstandard coating techniques, such as curtain coating, gravure coating,reverse gravure coating, offset gravure coating, roller coating,brushing, knife-over roll coating, air knife coating, metering rodcoating, reverse roll coating, doctor knife coating, dipping, diecoating, pattern bar coating, spraying, and the like. The application ofthese coating techniques is well known in the industry and caneffectively be implemented by one skilled in the art. The knowledge andexpertise of the manufacturing facility applying the coating determinethe preferred method. Further information on coating methods can befound in “Modern Coating and Drying Technology”, by Edward Cohen andEdgar Gutoff, VCH Publishers, Inc., 1992.

Upon formation of the adhesive layer, the adhesive layer is formed overand about the portions of the non-adhesive material lying above theplane of the release surface of the release liner such that thenon-adhesive material is partially embedded in the adhesive layer.Referring back to FIG. 4, when an adhesive layer is applied over therelease surface, the adhesive material would fill recessed areas 410,and the resulting adhesive layer would have topography that is theinverse of liner 400 and have a contact surface provided by protrudinghexagonal areas separated by channels or recesses. Upon removal of therelease liner, and referring back to FIG. 1A, the non-adhesive material(such as non-adhesive forms 130) remains embedded in the adhesive layer(such as adhesive layer 120), with a portion of the non-adhesivematerial being exposed or extending from the surface of the adhesivelayer. Even if some non-adhesive forms may be “fully” embedded in therelease liner, the bond strength between the adhesive and thenon-adhesive material may be sufficient for the non-adhesive form to bebound to the adhesive layer upon removal of the release liner. Therecesses or channels (such as recesses 124) in the patterned adhesivelayer provide the adhesive article with air egress characteristics. Theexposed, discrete quantities of non-adhesive material facilitaterepositionability and/or slidability of the article when it is appliedto a substrate.

A facestock or other suitable layer(s) may then be sequentially appliedto the adhesive layer as desired to produce a desired adhesive article.The facestock or other layer(s) may be applied using any suitable methodincluding, for example, laminating the layer to the adhesive layer.

An adhesive article may be applied to a substrate as desired. Generally,the release liner may be peeled away from the adhesive layer to exposethe embossed adhesive surface comprising discrete quantities ofnon-adhesive material. As previously described herein, the adhesivesurface may have a relatively low initial tack to allow the adhesivearticle to be (i) placed on the substrate without pre-adhering to thesubstrate and then slid or moved over the substrate's surface, or (ii)initially adhered to the substrate and subsequently removed from thesubstrate and repositioned. Once the article is properly aligned orlocated as desired, the user may apply a force to secure the article tothe substrate. The force required to secure the article to the substratemay be greater than that required to secure or adhere a similar adhesivematerial devoid of any non-adhesive forms.

While an adhesive article has been described with respect to an articlehaving an embossed release liner and an embossed adhesive layer, it willbe appreciated that the present invention is not limited to such aconfiguration. With reference to FIG. 5, for example, an adhesivearticle 500 may comprise substrate or facestock 510, adhesive layer 520,and non-adhesive forms 530. Similar to other embodiments, non-adhesiveforms 530 are distributed in a random or non-regular arrangement on theadhesive layer, and at least one or more of the non-adhesive forms 530are at least partially embedded in the adhesive layer. In the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 5, however, the adhesive layer is not embossed. Thenon-adhesive forms 530 may provide repositionability or slidabilitycharacteristics, and may optionally provide the article with air egresscharacteristics. An adhesive article having a non-embossed adhesivelayer, as illustrated, for example, in FIG. 5, may be formed by (i)providing a carrier web such as a release liner, (ii) applying aplurality of non-adhesive forms comprising a non-adhesive material to asurface of the carrier web (such as a release surface of a releaseliner) such that the non-adhesive forms are distributed in a non-regulararrangement, (iii) at least partially embedding one or more of thenon-adhesive forms into the carrier web, and (iv) applying an adhesivelayer onto the surface of the carrier web comprising the non-adhesiveforms. The method may employ techniques such as those previouslydescribed herein with exception that the web or article is not subjectedto an embossing step.

While the invention has been described in relation to various exemplaryembodiments, it is to be understood that various modifications andequivalent arrangements thereof may become apparent to those skilled inthe art upon reading the specification. The features of the variousembodiments of the adhesive articles described herein may be combinedinto or within an adhesive article. The various methods of manufacturingthe adhesive articles of the present invention described herein may alsobe combined. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventiondisclosed herein is intended to cover such modifications as fall withinthe scope of the appended claims which scope is to be accorded thebroadest interpretation so as to encompass all equivalent structures andproducts.

1. A pressure sensitive label, comprising: an adhesive layer having afirst and second side; a plurality of discrete non-adhesive materialforms randomly distributed, some of which are at least partiallyembedded in the adhesive layer; a first release liner adhered to a firstside of the adhesive layer; a second release liner adhered to a secondside of the adhesive layer; wherein one of the first release liner orsecond release liner is used to transfer the label to a substrate. 2.The pressure sensitive label of claim 1, wherein both the first andsecond side of the adhesive layer include areas of non-adhesivematerial.
 3. An adhesive article comprising: a substrate having firstand second surface; a printed layer that is applied to the surface ofthe substrate; a cover layer provided over the printed layer; anadhesive layer applied to the second surface of the substrate; aplurality of discrete non-adhesive material forms randomly distributed,some of which are partially embedded in the adhesive layer; and arelease liner covering the adhesive layer and the plurality of discretenon-adhesive material forms; and wherein the plurality of discretenon-adhesive material forms provide air egress in the adhesive layer. 4.The adhesive article of claim 3, wherein the release liner has atextured finish.
 5. The adhesive article of claim 3, wherein the releaseliner has a patterned finish.
 6. A method of making an adhesive article,the method comprising: providing a release liner having a releasesurface and a back surface; applying a plurality of non-adhesive formsto the release surface of the release liner such that the nonadhesiveforms are distributed on the release surface in a non-regulararrangement; at least partially embedding one or more of thenon-adhesive forms into the release liner release surface wherein theembedding pressure; embossing the release liner to provide an embossedpattern using; and applying an adhesive layer having a front surface anda back surface onto the release surface of the release liner, whereinthe front surface of the adhesive layer is adhered to the releasesurface of the release liner.
 7. A method as recited in claim 6, whereinthe embossing is accomplished at a pressure in the range of about 25 toabout 150 pounds per square inch and a temperature of about 45° F. toabout 300° F.
 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the release liner isembossed by one of pressure rollers, a platen or a printing plate.
 9. Amethod of making a release liner for an adhesive article comprising thesteps of: providing a moving web; spraying discrete quantities ofnon-adhesive material forms to the web; drying the non-adhesive materialforms; heating the web with the non-adhesive material forms; embeddingat least a portion of the non-adhesive material forms into the web; andembossing the web with the embedded non-adhesive material.
 10. Themethod as recited in claim 9, wherein the steps of embedding andembossing are carried out substantially simultaneously.